"to my love, my future, & my forever."

the saleswoman looked up at me with tears in her eyes. i smiled and handed her my credit card.

she said the ring will be ready by tomorrow morning. i walked out of the store, and denny was waiting for me at the curb. i slid in the back seat as he turned around, looking at me, smiling. he knew what i did, and he was happy. i smiled back at him and pulled up ellery's picture on my phone. i couldn't wait to see her again. her treatment is in two days which works out perfectly. i'll pick up the ring tomorrow morning and fly to california to talk to her and make things right before her treatment.

i decided to go to the gym and workout for a while. i was lifting some weights when i looked up, and ashlyn was standing over me. i sat up and looked at her.

"is your crazy girlfriend here with you?" she asked as she looked around.

"no, she isn't," i responded as i couldn't help but stare at the bruise on her face.

"i just want to apologize for saying and doing what i did. i have issues, connor, and i feel like i'm heading down a bad road. but i am seeing a therapist, and i'm going to get my life straightened out."

i actually felt sorry for her at that moment. "you do realize that you can no longer work for black enterprises, right?" i said.

"i know, and i just handed in my letter of resignation today. i asked phil not to tell you because i wanted to do that myself."

"i'm also stopping your monthly payments, but i will pay for your therapy. it's the least i can do since you're seeking help."

"thank you, connor," she smiled. she started to walk away and then turned around. "tell ellery i'm sorry and that she's a lucky woman to have someone like you to love her." i smiled and nodded my head, and then she was gone. i felt like a weight had been lifted off my shoulders. i finished my workout and then went home to prepare for my departure to california.

when i got off the elevator, peyton was sitting in the kitchen, talking to claire. i walked in, sat down on the stool next to her, and kissed her hello on the cheek. "is everything alright?" i asked her.

"everything's fine. i just stopped by to see how my friend is doing," she smiled.

"i'm good, in fact, i'm fantastic," i laughed.

peyton narrowed her eyes at me. "the only way you'd be fantastic is if you saw or talked to ellery.

so spill it, black; i want details."

"i bought ellery an engagement ring today, and i'm going to propose to her."

peyton threw her arms around me. "i'm so excited for you!"

"don't get excited yet; she hasn't said yes, there's a possibility of her saying no."

"ellery will say yes, connor, trust me. she loves you too much to say no. plus, she knows i'll kick her ass if she turns you down."

"please don't tell her about this," i commanded.

"no worries, connor; your secret is safe with me. i love my best friend, and i wouldn't ruin this for her," she smiled.

"call henry, and let's have dinner together," i said.

"great idea, i'll call him now."

the three of us had a nice dinner out and great conversation. i really liked peyton and henry, and i could see the four of us hanging out together and being great friends for as long as we live.

after i got home, i packed my bag and made sure everything was ready for the morning. i climbed into bed and laid there, planning the perfect proposal. ellery deserved the best, and i wanted to make sure it was something that she'll never forget.

chapter 24

tiffany's called me the next morning to inform me that ellery's ring was ready. i threw my bag in the limo, and denny drove me to pick it up. as i put the box in my pocket and headed back to the limo, my phone rang.

"valerie, what's up?" i answered.

"mr. black, you need to come to the office. there's a problem with the chicago building, and phil needs you here right away for a meeting."

i sighed heavily into the phone. "tell phil i'll be there as soon as i can." i hung up and told denny that we needed to stop by black enterprises first. i called my pilot and told him that i'd be delaying the flight for a couple of hours.

i walked through the doors of black enterprises and headed straight to my office. "tell phil i'm here, and let's get things moving," i said to valerie.

i looked at phil as he walked through my office door. "what the hell is going on?"

"the chicago building caught on fire and burnt to the ground last night. i just got the call. connor, everything's destroyed."

"shit, are you kidding me, phil? do they know what started it?"

"the firefighters are saying that it was arson," he said.

i shook my head and ran my hand through my hair as i dialed my pilot. "change of plans, we're flying to chicago first and then california," i told him. "let's go and see how many millions of dollars i just lost."

we flew to chicago and met with the local police and the firefighters. they said it was definitely arson, and they'd be working hard to try and find the person who did it. they asked me and phil a number of questions about employees, friends, and various people we know. i couldn't think of a single person who would purposely do this to me. i looked at my watch, and i needed to get on that plane to california. i told phil to stay in chicago for the night, and i'd send the plane back for him first thing in the morning. he needed to stay behind and fill out a bunch of paper work anyway.

the flight to california seemed unusually long. i got out of my seat to use the bathroom, and when i came back, i noticed i had a missed call from ellery. i was arriving in california in less than an hour, so i decided that i'd call her when i landed. upon arrival, i got into a cab and headed to her apartment. i tried to call her, but she didn't answer. i arrived at her place, and i knocked on the door.

i was feeling nervous to see her again. i didn't know what to expect from her. when she didn't answer, i went downstairs to mason and landon's apartment. landon came to the door, and he didn't look very well.

"hey, connor; it's good to see you, buddy," he sniffled.

"hi, landon; are you sick or something?"

"yeah, i caught some kind of virus. what brings you here?"

"i'm looking for ellery, but she's not answering her door."

"her and mason went to club 99 for an evening out. you can find them there."

"thanks, man, and feel better," i said as i left.

i hailed a cab, and he dropped me off in front of the club. the line to get in was long, so i pulled a hundred-dollar bill out of my pocket and handed it to the bouncer. he smiled at me and lifted up the rope. i walked inside as the music was blaring, and the floor was thumping. there was no way i was going to find her in this crowd. i decided to hit the bar for a drink before i started looking for her. as i was almost there, i saw ellery and mason standing there doing shots of tequila. i stopped and stared at her from behind. the little black skirt she was wearing barely covered her ass, and she had on high black boots that came to her knees. i felt like i didn't know that girl standing there. she looked like a slut to be exact.

i decided to stay back and watch her. she downed six shots of tequila, grabbed mason's hand, and went to the dance floor. i didn't know how much she had to drink before i got there. i followed her to the dance floor while keeping some distance. i saw a guy approach her and they started talking. my blood was boiling, and i could feel the anger rising up. they started dancing together as ellery was grinding and moving her body up and down his. i was ready to kill. i went up and tapped the guy on the shoulder. i slipped him a fifty-dollar bill to leave and indicated that she was mine. mason saw me across the crowd, and his eyes widened. i shook my head at him not to let ellery know it was me standing behind her. she moved her body up and down me. she brought her hands to my arms. i tightened my grip on her hips. this girl was in big trouble with me. she turned around and shock overtook her expression as she looked at me.

"let's go now!" i ordered.

"what the hell are you doing here, connor?" she asked as she jerked her arm from me.

"why don't you tell me first, ellery?!" i yelled.

"i'm having fun," she slurred.

"you look like a total slut on this dance floor, and thank god i was here or who knows what that a**hole would have done to you."

she looked away from me and headed towards the bar. i weaved in and out of the crowd, trying to catch up with her. she'd already downed one shot by time i caught up with her and picked up the next glass as i grabbed it out of her hand. "you're drunk, and we're leaving; let's go." i demanded. i threw some money on the bar and grabbed her hand, pulling her out of the bar with mason following behind us. she tried to get out of my grip as she was screaming at me to let her go. she was so drunk, and it killed me to see her behave this way. she stopped dead in her tracks and wouldn't move, so i picked her up in the middle of the club and threw her over my shoulder. she started kicking and screaming for me to put her down.

"ellery, knock it off or so help me."

"so help you what, connor?!" she yelled as i put her in the cab and climbed next to her. she looked at me as i stared straight ahead. i couldn't look at her at that moment. i was too pissed off.

"you have no right!" she spat.

my angered eyes turned and looked at her. "i have no right? what the hell do you think you were doing in there? were you trying to get yourself raped? look at you, and the way you're dressed, you're just asking for it."

she flipped out and started hitting me in the chest. "fuck you, connor!" she screamed as she proceeded to beat on me.

mason grabbed her arms as i grabbed her wrists, trying to calm her down. the cab pulled up to the apartment building. mason and i got out, and ellery sat there with her arms folded.

"get out of the cab now!" i yelled. she glared at me and then flipped me off.

"real mature, ellery," i said as i leaned into the cab, grabbed her arm, and pulled her out. i threw her over my shoulder and carried her straight to the bedroom, throwing her on the bed. i paced back and forth across the room while running my hands through my hair, trying to calm down.

"i can't believe you, ellery. i came here tonight to surprise you, and i find you dry humping some guy in a club, drunk off your ass. what the hell were you thinking?"

"i was having fun instead of being cooped up in this apartment, crying over you every damn day!"

she screamed.

i stopped and looked at her. i could see the affliction in her eyes, and it hurt. "do you think this has been easy for me?" i asked calmly.

she put her hand over her mouth and ran to the bathroom. she leaned over the toilet, and i heard her vomiting. i walked in behind her and held her hair back with one hand while i softly rubbed her back with other. as she began to cry, i walked to the sink and ran a cloth under the warm water. when she was finished, i wiped her mouth with it and helped her off the floor.